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Budapest is a city full of surprises, one of which is its excellent café and coffee shop culture. From opulent high-end cafes to independent roasteries, this is my guide to the best cafes and coffee shops in Budapest.
If I’m honest, I wasn’t at all expecting to experience such a thriving café and cafe scene the last time I visited Budapest. In 2013, when I first visited one of Europe’s most popular city breaks, I wasn’t a coffee lover, so I didn’t intentionally seek out cool coffee shops or independent roasters, but now, in my 30s and with two little ones, I rely on my daily coffee. So, with that in mind, for my trip in 2025, I made sure to explore as many cafes and coffee shops in Budapest as possible.
I was only visiting for three nights and there is only so much coffee a man can drink, so I didn’t get to try all the places recommended or that I added to my list of places to try. However, this will bring together all my favorites with a few additions that come with high praise to help inspire your own trip to Budapest and ensure that you too experience the best silky-smooth coffee (not all in hipster hangouts, I promise) and freshly made sweet treats in opulent interiors.
I recently spent three nights in Budapest with Jet2holidays and Visit Hungary; However, apart from the Gerbeaud Café, all the cafes and coffee shops I managed to visit were in my free time. As always, all opinions are my own.
THE BEST CAFES AND CAFES IN BUDAPEST
MAP
All of the Budapest cafes and cafes listed below are included in this map which will hopefully help you plan your visit.
HOW TO USE THE MAP | Click the icon at the top left to display the list of all locations. Click on the top right corner of the map to open a larger version in a new tab. The star allows you to save directly to your own Google Maps.
Parisi Passage Restaurant
I stumbled upon this stunning cafe and restaurant while wandering around shortly after sunrise. I was a little surprised that neither place was actually open at 7:45am on a Saturday morning for a coffee, but, after looking in the door and admiring the impressive gallery, I was welcomed for a drink along with the guests of Hotel Parisi Udvar. The Parisi Passage restaurant is part of the luxurious Parisi Udvar hotel and occupies a central place within this historic building.
The building itself, when it opened in 1817, was Hungary’s first “modern” shopping center, followed by a bookstore and the Central Savings Bank. Due to its architectural design, the building was declared a monument in 1976, however, from the 1980s until 2014, it was abandoned! That’s why I don’t remember it at all from my 2013 trip.
Fortunately, after five years of restoration, the building reopened in 2019 in its current form. The interior is absolutely beautiful; In the vein of Victorian galleries around the world, expect gilded ceilings with intricate glass designs. My neck started to hurt pretty quickly after stretching it out to admire the inside from as many angles as possible. I know Budapest’s New York Café is touted as the most beautiful café in the world, but you can’t be too far from Parisi Passage; Also, there are no real crowds.
I ordered a flat white which came in a rather fancy glass (at least for me) and tasted pretty good. However, the price was equivalent to about £7.50 / $9.80; It is extremely expensive, but you are paying for a very high-end establishment. Was it worth it? Yes, it probably was, the architecture was beautiful, the atmosphere peaceful and I really enjoyed it!
MTRM Roast
With only a few hours left in Budapest, I set out on one of my signature walks with no real purpose other than to capture interesting little details and nice light. I ended up taking a look at Google Maps to see if any of the places I had saved were nearby and decided to venture to MTRM Roast, which happens to now be my favorite coffee shop in the entire city.
MTRM is a micro roaster in the suburbs of Budapest, where the tree-lined streets are quieter, more residential in nature, and more likely to find a hidden gem. This is exactly that. I was welcomed into the coffee shop and immediately my shot of hand-brewed espresso was gently poured into a glass ready for the frothed milk.
The interior is small, cozy, with exposed rust-colored bricks, open shelves and a small opening through which you can glimpse the small barbecue that takes place here. I got to talking to two of the other customers; one of which, Haifahe was displaying his beautiful works of art on the walls. It’s like a really nice place to hang out and have coffee. I also bought some freshly roasted coffee beans to take home and the coffee basically tasted like a Mars bar…amazing!
While this one will almost certainly be out of your way, if you have the time, it’s a lovely place to stop for a coffee!
Gerbeaud Cafe
Located on Vörösmarty Square, Gerbeaud Café is a classic and historic Budapest café dating back to 1858 (yes, it’s even older than the ever-popular New York Café). If you’re looking for an opulent café other than the New York Café, you can’t go wrong with Gerbeaud.
Here you will experience elegance, delicious chocolates and cakes and a lovely selection of hot drinks. We had a small selection of three of the most popular cakes; Gerbeaud Slice, Blackberry Yogurt Slice, and Royal Chocolate Cake. I devoured them all with a cappuccino and I can’t think of many better places to spend an hour in the morning. It’s beautiful here!
contact
Kontakt Coffee feels like the locals’ favorite kind of place, the kind of place that if you weren’t specifically looking for it, I bet you’d never find it. Between the Danube and the Jewish quarter, in a courtyard surrounded by tall residential buildings, is this minimalist cafe. Expect concrete, a tiled cafe, and plenty of monstera plants. The menu is small and focuses on serving a few expertly brewed beers; Flat Whites, black coffee and cold beers. Of course, there are other offerings, but the coffee is the main attraction. There’s a strict “no sugar” rule here, so don’t try adding it to your coffee; It’s more than enough!
My little Melbourne cafe
My Little Melbourne was a place I definitely wanted to visit in Budapest thanks to its obvious connection to my favorite city in the world which, by the way, is also home to some of the best coffee in the world. Although I visited late in the afternoon, I still found room for a flat white that turned out to be the smoothest of all the coffees I tried. I may have already had 3 or even 4 coffees before visiting My Little Melbourne, but it was clear that this place is one of the best coffee shops in Budapest. After five coffees, I think I could physically feel the caffeine coursing through my veins.
Really good coffee and I recommend visiting here to recharge when visiting the Jewish quarter of the city, District VII.
Cafe Madal
While I didn’t have time to try Madal’s coffee offerings, I did stop by a few of their outlets and was immediately drawn to the beautiful smell of freshly brewed coffee and the beautiful logo and typography on the glass windows; yes, that’s true! It is highly recommended and some would even say it might be the best cafe in Budapest. I have to visit it next time!
Restaurant Twentysix Budapest
This is one of those brunch cafes that is sweeping social media at the moment and although we managed to have a quick look, there was a huge queue which shows just how popular it is. The location is stunning, it’s like an urban jungle in this beautiful atrium.
Here it is highly recommended to reserve a table in advance and, since you have had to work hard to get a table, you can also stay for breakfast or lunch (or even dinner). The breakfast menu looks amazing and focuses on Eastern Mediterranean cuisine.
EVERYWHERE ELSE ON MY LIST
As I mentioned above, unfortunately I didn’t make it to all the places on my list. However, I’m sure you know exactly what it’s like; I save so many places in my Google Maps when I research blogs, social networks and Google Maps itself and I never manage to visit them all. I get disappointed and often feel like I haven’t “completed” it – seeing a top 20 coffee shop reel or even a blog like this might make it seem normal to try everywhere at the same time.
That said, I think it’s important to at least see what’s out there so you can plan your trip or have backups depending on where you are in the city when you need a little break. So the other places on my list of cafes and cafes in Budapest (and bakeries) that I really wanted to visit were bageri, Aran Bakery, Espresso Embassy and CAUSE Cafe and grill. Next time I visit Budapest, I’ll be sure to check them out!
Well, I hope you enjoyed my guide to all these amazing cafes and coffee shops in Budapest. Let me know what you think if you visit or if you have any other recommendations, I’d love to hear them!
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